Priorities

The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

'Tis time enough indeed to talk of many things.  And think.  Been thinking a lot lately about where my life is going, what I'm doing, and what my priorities are.  A month on the road - California, New York Catskills, Boxwood - coming home seems less and less like coming home.  Looking over my life (with particular note to my finances) I realized I need to set some serious priorities; life is too short to faff around with things I don't particularly enjoy or want to do.

So I sat down and wrote out a budget.  Looked over where my money was going, and then moved some things around to see where it could potentially go.  And my! do I have a lot of silly places I was sending my money!  Reevaluating what I spend on, and what I would prefer to spend on, I realized I have a lot of flexibility to go where I want to go.  And not have to worry too much as long as I stop spending without thinking first.

That said, my priorities right now are music and travel.  Often in one.  So any time I can put money to one of those two things, that's where it will go.  I broke 100 days of tunes nearly two weeks ago, and I am happier and happier when I give myself the time to simply sit and play.  After travels this summer (and not quite as many fantastic sessions as I would have liked), I decided I needed one more hurrah of tunes before diving into the school year, so I'm heading to the Milwaukee Irish Fest Aug 16-19.  Paul and I went the summer he came to visit and had a fantastic time at that festival - - the tunes at the Wyndham were top quality.  I'm a little nervous to go "alone;" I know I'll meet people, but there's something powerful in traveling to festivals like that with a friend or partner.  And really, people are so open to helping out those of us on our own.

Deep breath, and dive in.  It's a priority, and a great way to meet new people and collect new tunes.  Will be worth every bit (and every penny!).